


The Gambler

by Loopy



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Ambiguous Relationships, F/M, Gen, Lifelong Friendships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-03
Updated: 2014-08-03
Packaged: 2018-02-11 13:22:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2069811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loopy/pseuds/Loopy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table. There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done. Entry for Tokka Week 2014.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Gambler

**The Gambler  
Tokka Week 2014: Know When to Hold ‘Em**

Sokka was going nowhere, but he was going there fast, so he figured it all evened out.

The train sped through the night, and with his cabin darkened, Sokka was able to watch as moonlit fields of grasses, rocks, and the occasional mix of grass and rocks together sped along. He was on one of the new trains, the kind powered not by Benders but by steam and engines and oils, and so it rattled as its wheels carried it along metal rails. Sokka didn't mind the clanking and kronking and pinging; he found the mix soothing, the regularity melting into the back of his mind and rocking him gently like a mother's arms, if mothers were steam-powered. He couldn't remember his mother anymore, steam-powered or not, but he was trying to avoid memories on this specific night. Memories used to be easy to stick behind the Black Wall in his mind, but lately he had more memories than thoughts bouncing around in his skull. It was worse even then the days in the South Pole after his father left to go fight in the war...

No, he didn't want to think about the South Pole.

The landscape no longer holding his attention, Sokka turned his wandering gaze to the cabin itself. The cabin was even darker than it was outside, the lamps turned off so that he could look out the window without any glare, and there wasn't much to look at in here, anyway. Inevitably, his eyes were drawn to the only distraction in the room, the other passenger. He- Sokka assumed it was a He, since people who smelled like six different kinds of farms were usually He, in his experience, and this person definitely hit at least a 5.5 on the Farm Smell scale- was huddled in a massive cloak on the opposite bench. The window stretched out between them, but the other passenger didn't seem to care for the view. In fact, the cloak was so all-consuming, and his cabin-mate so passive, that Sokka was hard pressed to say if there was a person in the cloak at all. Perhaps he had snuck out at some point, leaving the cloak to throw others off his trail. That was a fun thought.

The stray realization hit that it would have been a useful trick at Republic City's Southern Water Tribe Cultural Center earlier that day, and Sokka's capacity for Denial hit him like the tongue of a Sky Bison, leaving him disgusted, unbalanced, and in the mood for bison steaks. Sokka had thought that his days of meeting with important people were over, after his not entirely voluntary exit from Republic City politics, but then the word came that three members of the Council of Chieftains were in town and wanted to have a little get-together with him at the Center, and Sokka could hardly avoid that kind of thing if he expected the Center to continue importing seal-jerky for him at a discount.

So he went down, met with the three Chieftains, and afterward went straight to the train station, bought a train ticket and a flask of City Special, and rode off into the darkness.

He briefly considered that his reaction might have been a bit melodramatic, but then dismissed it. Sighing, Sokka unclipped his new flask from his belt, twisted the top off, and took a swig of City Special.

Across from him, the other passenger stirred in the shadow-like cloak, and the hood almost lifted up. A scratchy voice emerged, and it sounded so ill-used that Sokka expected it to leave dust wafting through the air. It said, "I know the sound of sighing like a badgermole knows rocks, and that's the sigh of a man who's out of aces. A man drinking City Special, too."

"Clichéd choice of metaphors, but good nose." Sokka took another swallow of the burning liquid and turned to stare out the window again. "And ears."

"And that's the heartbeat of a man beating himself up."

That made Sokka look back at his unwanted companion. "You're a Metalbender?"

"Used to be. Not so much anymore."

"Wow." Sokka couldn't help but give a little laugh. "I knew the lady who invented metalbending. I was there when she did it for the first time when we were both teenagers. (Well, _almost_ there. Timing was a little off.) And now it's been long enough for someone to _retire_ from it."

The hood nodded. "You're talking about Toph Bei Fong, right?"

"That's her."

"Isn't she dead now?"

"Probably." Sokka took another long pull from the flask.

The hobo shifted, and two pale hands emerged from the cloak to pull the hood back. The moonlight reached forward to illuminate a familiar pale face marred by new wrinkles, eyes with no glint to them, and a mop of steel-gray hair that had been folded to dangle sweaty strings over the whole visage.

Toph smirked and said, "Not yet, City Special."

Sokka only realized that he had dropped his flask when he felt its contents soaking unpleasantly into his lap. "Toph!" He was on his feet in an instant, and grabbed his friend into a hug before he remembered how badly she smelled. Even after the odor struck him, he held on, and her strong arms likewise didn't relent their grip on him. "Where have you been?"

They eased apart, but instead of going back to her bench, Toph plopped down on his own, and Sokka sat next to her. She gave a shrug and grinned at him. "Where haven't I been? I go where the Earth takes me, these days. I listen and follow."

"Where are you following to right now?"

"Depends. Where is this train stopping?"

"You don't know?"

"I didn't exactly buy a ticket. It's pretty easy to just wander onto these things if you know what you're doing, and sometimes listening to the Earth isn't as important as giving your feet a break after you've been walking for three straight months."

Sokka felt a blush coming onto his face, and was glad that Toph wouldn't be able to percieve it. "I don't know where we're going, either. I just told the guy I wanted a ticket for the first train out of town."

Toph's grin widened. "I knew they'd want to lynch you someday. What'd you do, exile all the vegetarians?"

"I don't... I'm not on the council anymore. I retired a while ago." Sokka reached up with one hand and tugged on his Warrior's Wolf Tail. "Something happened today that... I... I guess I have a decision to make."

"What kind?"

He thought about how to word it so that it cast the maximum amount of sympathy on his situation and got Toph to advise him to do exactly what he already wanted to do, but the phrasing that immediately came to mind was less specific. It must have been her earlier reference to playing cards, but all he could think to immediately say was, "I'm trying to figure if it's time to hold 'em, time to fold 'em..."

Toph nodded. "...time to walk away, or time to run?"

"Yeah."

Toph tapped a foot against the metal floor of the cabin, and Sokka knew she was getting a detailed view of him beyond what he would ever be able to comprehend. He wanted to resent how revealing her sense of 'sight' was, but Aang could do the same thing without getting at all glowy just by looking in a person's eyes, so it was hard to blame her Earthbending. Toph leaned against him and grabbed one of his hands. "So talk. And don't try to make it so that I give the advice you want to hear."

He barked a laugh. "We see each other for the first time in years, and you want to hear about my latest problem?"

"Beats talking about the trouble my kids are probably getting into. Wait, hold on." She leaned forward, grabbed the flask from the floor, and knocked back what sounded like the last swallow. "Okay, now I'm ready."

* * *

Half a century earlier, more or less, Sokka and Toph had been on another late-night journey. There had been no City Special available on that ride, partially because there was no City in which to make anything Special yet, and also because the whole of Air Nomad society had (according to some legends) been shaped by the early discovery that ten-ton flying Sky Bison and cheap hooch in the Airbender steering the thing are one of the most dangerous combinations in the history of all mankind. Aang was the Airbender currently steering this particular Sky Bison (Sokka's good buddy Appa, because anyone with a mouth bigger than you had better be a good buddy), and the only thing in his system currently was Bei Fong family premium rice, so the ride was as smooth any ride above cloud level could be. Nevertheless, Sokka could see that new passenger Toph was clutching the side of Appa's saddle hard enough to set her arms trembling.

Even for her first flight ever, that was a fairly extreme reaction. She had seemed okay with flying earlier, so perhaps she was just cold now. The spring could still get a little cool this time of year, for people who didn't grow up on an ice flow. A much less pleasant possibility was that the Championship Belt that Sokka had accidently dropped on Toph's head had done permanent damage to her.

Katara was dozing nearby, but Sokka decided that before waking her, he'd go evaluate the possibility of brain damage himself. He crawled from his place to get close to Toph, and spoke just loud enough to be heard over the winds. "Hey." After a moment, he added, "It's Sokka."

"'sup."

The fact that she hadn't said something completely nonsensical like 'foo-foo-cuddly-poops' was a good sign as far as possible brain damage went, but it couldn't hurt to do a little more testing. A few questions were in order to make sure her memory wasn't damaged, but nothing that would actually qualify as _snooping_ of course. "So, I think I pretty much have it figured out, but just to avoid any potential hilarious misunderstandings, your parents didn't _really_ say it was okay to come with us, right? You ran away."

Toph's grip on the edge of the saddle visibly tightened. "Are you going to send me back if I say yes?"

Sokka started to shake his head, but then caught himself. "No. I don't like to get involved in other people's... peopleness. I heard what your dad and mom said, and if you did what you think you had to, then I'm not making a big deal out of it. My sister, though? I mean, she's already figured it all out, too, so she won't bother you about this specifically, but usually she's much more of a busybody. So, uh, watch your back around her."

"Thanks." Toph shifted her weight, and while she was still holding on, she didn't seem to be trembling anymore. "I _think_ I did what I had to. I couldn't go back to pretending even if I could get away with it."

"Yeah." Sokka looked up at he glowing moon, and as always was struck by how beautiful it was; it was amazing how often a person could look up at and still be amazed. "It's one thing to keep a lid on things and, like, _pretend_ that things aren't things. But then when you finally let it all out and things are _still_ bad and hurting?" Sokka leaned up against the side of the saddle, and looked back over at Toph. "Sometimes retreating is smarter than fighting on, you know?"

"Yeah." A smile flitted across Toph's face. "It's like that song."

"Song?"

"You know, the one that goes hmm-hmm-hm-hmmm-hmm."

"Hmm-hmm-hm-hmmm-hmm? Are there lyrics to go with that?"

"Yeah, but I don't remember them."

"Well, then."

Toph let go of the saddle with one arm, and used it to swing a fist at Sokka. It took her a few tries, but eventually she connected with his shoulder; the impact was a lot harder than Sokka would have expected of a fist that small. _Definitely_ no brain damage, then.

Looking quite satisfied, Toph leaned back against the side of the saddle. "I don't know the words exactly, but it's about gambling with cards. Knowing when to hold or fold, and when to take your money and walk and when to run away."

"So this is a time to run?"

"That's what we were just saying, right?"

"Yeah." Sokka glanced back up at the moon. "But we don't have to run forever. I hope."

They had dozed off together, that night, waking when Aang landed Appa sometime later, and didn't speak of that conversation again for decades.

* * *

After the war, their lives had taken them on different paths. Toph went off to teach Metalbending to the worthy, and when she couldn't find them, condescended to teach Metalbending to whoever could do it and also tolerate her teaching style. Sokka stuck with Aang and Katara to help them create this new "universal" nation they wanted to make out of the old Fire Nation colonies, and make sure their grand dreams were shored up with that 'practicality' thing they always somehow forgot about. Sokka and Toph were both well into adulthood and their chosen careers when he made the last of many visits to her academy on one bright warm day. He walked up the dirt path from Yu Dao, and as always, was able to hear the pained and terrified screams of the students before he saw the dojo itself.

By the time he got there, he found Toph waiting for him on the porch. Even the chaos of her academy wasn't enough to let him sneak up on her. He waved his hand as jogged the last few steps. "Hail the camp!"

"Hail the camp?"

"I'm trying it out. I met a Fire Nation businessman the other day who thought that's how people from the Water Tribes greet each other. Like, all the time, even when we're not camping. I was very nice and didn't laugh in his face."

Toph gave a quick snort of amusement. "He probably thinks the only baths people take in the Earth Kingdom are mud baths."

"Yeah." Sokka started to chuckle, but then realized something. "Wait, mud baths are the only kinds of baths _you_ take."

"Yeah, I'm a real credit to my people. You want to come in and meet the new lily-livers, or do you just want to head to the back?"

"Are your students a new group of quirky underachievers with various personality issues that are keeping them from making something of themselves?"

"Every single one of them."

"Then let's just skip that."

Toph turned and leaned through the dojo's doorway. " _TAKE A BREAK!! BE BACK HERE IN AN HOUR OR I'LL HUNT YOU DOWN AND STEAL YOUR BONES!!_ "

Sokka kept a polite smile on his face and let Toph lead him to her room. It was the only private quarters at the whole academy. All the other students had to sleep in bunks designed to mimic the living conditions of soldiers in the Fire Army, as the original purpose of the building was to churn out skilled Firebenders who could spread the glory of Fire Nation civilization and also incinerate anyone who could do with a little less glory in their lives. Sokka still had no idea why Toph had to steal her academy rather than just make one herself, but he assumed there was a Point involved, probably based on the whole incineration business.

Toph's room specifically had once belonged to the rather pompous Master Firebender who used to run the place, and while it was still large enough to match the man's personality, Toph had removed all the trophies that had once cluttered the place. The only decoration now was a long, rectangular sheet of semi-transparent crystal nailed to the solid wall beside Toph's sleeping pallet to stretch like a window. Sokka assumed it was some kind of blind joke, but never said anything in case he was missing a clever pun and would be ridiculed for it. Toph reached out to brush the crystal with her fingers as she sat down on the floor. "So what brings you to the wilds of Yu Dao, Mister Big Shot Council Guy?"

Sokka immediately dropped to one knee and grabbed Toph's hands in his own. "I've come to take you away from all this."

She didn't glare at him, of course, but Sokka would swear that she was doing the equivalent with her Earthsense. "Really."

"Sure. I have a job offer for you." He dropped her hand and sat down fully on the floor. "I figured I'd start my pitch by asking if you're happy here?"

"Why wouldn't I be? I spend every day Bending, and I get to yell at people constantly. I know guys who would kill for a job like that. One even tried to kill me, but you remember that."

"The Firebender who owned this place was probably more interested in the building than the job." Sokka looked around at the bare room, and rested his eyes on the false window. "It's been a year since you were able to send any Metalbenders to Republic City."

"Republic _City_ , now?" Toph leaned over and punched his shoulder. "You finally got that official name change passed, huh? Congrats!"

As usual, Sokka had to resist the urge to massage the soreness left by her fist. "Well, there's still one more voting session, though it's expected to go my way. But really, no new Metalbenders. Any comment on that?"

"Maybe not all my graduates want to come help you build towers and beat up bandits." Toph wasn't looking at Sokka, because she never looked at him when she talked, but this time Sokka couldn't help but find it meaningful. It was a deliberate kind of looking away that hid her face.

"Toph, _everyone_ wants to build towers and beat up bandits. Except for the people who want to knock towers down or be bandits, but that goes without saying. (Why did I say it?) But fine, theoretically, someone might someday be born that wouldn't enjoy one of those two possibilities. I'll concede that point. So, how many new Metalbenders did you graduate who _didn't_ come to Republic City?"

Toph said nothing.

Sokka reached out to grab one of her hands again, but this time the sentiment was genuine. "I'm not criticizing you. You've already trained a bunch of Metalbenders, so you obviously know how to teach. And _no one_ is denying that you're the greatest Earthbender. Of all time!"

She squeezed her hand, and Sokka's fingers suddenly felt like he got them stuck in a hydraulic press again. He tried to pull his hand away, but Toph ignored his efforts. "You better get to the point fast, Meathead." She opened her fist, and Sokka snatched his fingers away from her.

He took a moment to rub some feeling back into them before continuing. "You ever think how weird it was that you didn't invent Metalbending until Xin Fu captured you and put in a metal box for the _second_ time? The first time was the night we met, and you had to wait for your dad to come. The second time you just ripped it open yourself. Ever wonder why?"

"No."

"Well, think about it. What was the difference between those times?"

Toph rose up to stand beside her fake window. She placed a hand on it, pressing her palm against the glittering surface as though she could see through the wall to the world outside. "I don't know. The second time was more desperate, probably."

"Was it really?"

"Eh, it was when I was twelve, what do you want from me? What do you think the difference is?"

"The first time, you didn't really know us. It was just about your own survival, and the dopey kid who was making a mess of your life." Sokka realized that might need clarification, and so added, "The dopey kid was Aang."

"Yeah, I got that. And the second time wasn't about survival?"

"Partially. It was also about getting back to your friends. The friends being us: Aang, Katara, me, Momo, and Appa." Sokka gestured expansively at the building around them. "How many friends do you have around here? Versus how many in Republic City? See, there's me (that's one), Aang (that's two), Katara-"

"-I can _count_ , Sokka." She stepped forward to tower over him. "Are you saying that I'm so weak, that because I miss the losers who could never really keep up with me, I can't teach the strength you gotta have to tear through metal with bare hands? Can't deal with all the fanboys who come crawling here because they think I'm some kind of goddess and then cry when I shout at them?"

Sokka looked up at her. "Well, _weak_ isn't the word I'd use. Besides, I'm not saying you should retire or anything. The city's security forces are about as solid as cheese, and my last three chiefs- you like the name? I figured every band of warriors needs a chief- were all corrupt. Someone I can trust and who can tell when people are lying would become very important to the city very quickly. We have lots of Earthbenders, so I'm sure at least some of them will want to learn Metalbending. And most of them are already Aang's fanboys, so you don't have to worry about anyone worshipping you."

"So you want me to walk away from this place I've built. Like it's a losing hand of cards?"

"Only because you're smart enough to know when to walk." Sokka started to smile, but then remembered something. "And besides, you didn't build this place, you stole it."

"I can still yell at people, right?"

"I think that's probably one of the most important parts of the job."

Toph threw all of her students out an hour later, and insisted that she and Sokka were starting their journey to Republic City before dinner.

* * *

It was an older and heavier Sokka and Toph who met in a greasy diner in what was rapidly becoming Republic City's slums. The diner's once-shiny metal walls and tables were tarnished with rust and dust and what Sokka hoped were tea stains, and when he walked in he had spotted an aardvark-beetle scurrying across the floor on what seemed like very urgent business. Toph could probably hand an even better sense for just how many pests were calling the unfortunate diner their home, but she was just staring into her tea as oblivious to the rest of the world as the aardvark-beetle. At least there were no reporters in this diner, as they were far worse than mere pests.

They sat at a table beside a long window that gave them a view of the gray street outside. Sokka took a sip of his tea, nearly spat out what tasted more like motor oil (Sokka had actually tried it once, during one of his more unfortunate bursts of curiosity), and finally got to the reason why they weren't enjoying a better class of terrible diner. "Councilman Lee's son works for you."

"Does he? I should fire him."

"You can't, he's your most decorated Metalbender."

"Is he? And I can't fire people for that?"

"Usually you fire them for the opposite."

"Huh."

Sokka leaned down on the table and felt his skin sticking unpleasantly to the surface. "More importantly, firing him would upset Councilman Lee. And, well..."

"Yeah, it's awful how upset a parent can get when their kid's life is ruined." Toph put a hand around her own cup of tea, but didn't do anything with it. "So is Councilman Lee going to bring any corruption charges against me, or do I get the chance to be even more corrupt and promote his son in order to keep Suyin out of the papers?"

"I wish you had that opportunity." Sokka looked out the window. The only things to look at were dull gray buildings and a dog rummaging through a pile of garbage in an alley across the street, but he still preferred that less-than-stunning view to the sight of his best friend's face as he said this next part. "Councilman Lee sends his congratulations on your retirement. He says the city owes you a debt of gratitude and a medal for your years of service. There was also something about you going down in history as a hero, and how he hopes his son will be able to live up to the great example you set when he takes over as Chief."

Toph gave a heavy snort, and for a second Sokka was worried that she had tried drinking the tea, but when he turned back to look at her, he realized that she was laughing. "I gotta hand it to that guy, he knows how to make a threat. Boss Yakone wasn't half as classy when he said he'd go after my kids."

Sokka didn't want to think about Yakone. "I'm sorry, Toph. I tried to stop Lee, but there was no way I could fight him without Suyin's arrest going public. I think you did the right thing sending her out of the city, but there was too much evidence. Lee just happened to be the guy to find what was still out there. It could have been worse, I guess. Lee was willing be magnanimous about it."

Toph let go of her tea and reached out to touch the window, but she grimaced as soon as her fingers brushed the filmy glass and pulled her hand away again. "Lin just took things too far, making the arrest right on the scene like that."

Sokka pulled his arms off the table, feeling like he was tearing off a leech. "I don't blame Lin for this. I don't think she was happy about arresting her sister."

Toph nodded. "I don't blame Lin, either." She picked up her tea and downed the whole thing in one long pull that made Sokka's stomach churn in sympathy. "That was the worst tea I've ever had. So, am I wrong, or do I have to fold on this hand?"

Sokka sighed. "It's the losiest hand ever dealt. There's nothing we can do. You have to retire."

"That's what I thought. But I would have driven myself crazy second-guessing it. So thanks for agreeing." She stood up with enough force to set her chair clattering against the floor. A few aardvark-beetles scurried away in abject terror. "Come on, let's go tell Aang and Katara. They'll get suspicious if they have to read it in the rags."

Sokka heaved himself to his feet, and threw once last glance out the window. The street was still empty of everyone but a dog and an unfortunate hobo who tried to steal a bone from it, with no reporters in sight to give his friend grief. He gave himself one last moment to mourn for Toph's defeat, and then shoved those feelings behind the Black Wall he built in his head for Bad Things like that. As far as the world was concerned from now on, Toph was going out on a high note, and he was very happy for her.

Eventually, they both managed to make that lie into truth.

And then Toph left.

* * *

Even more decades later, Sokk and Toph were celebrating their joyous reunion, their first meeting since Toph announced that she was leaving to find Something and she didn't have the slightest idea what that Something was, by talking about Sokka's latest anxiety.

The train gave a little bump, bouncing Sokka's backside off his bench, and as soon as he landed he began his explanation. "The Council of Chieftains sent some representatives to meet with me in Republic City. They want me to come down and join them. As a Chief."

Toph frowned. "And that's what sent you running away on the first train out of the city with a flask of cheap hooch? And I thought _Twinkletoes_ was a pushover."

"You didn't see how it ended, Toph." Sokka turned to the cabin's window just as the train passed onto a bridge. Below, a body of water reflected the moon with moist fidelity. "It was just like what happened to you. They threw me a party, and built a statue of me, and gave me a free membership at this really _swanky_ club that serves the best rabbaroo steaks I've ever eaten, and everyone in the entire city just completely ignored that I wanted the United Republic to elect its own leaders. They called me a hero but they wouldn't even talk about the thing I fought so hard for that I actually let them beat me down."

"Sokka."

"Yeah?"

"Even if I were there, I wouldn't have seen how it ended."

"Huh?"

"I'm blind, remember?"

He turned away from the window and looked at her. Of course, she wasn't facing him, and he knew she was doing it on purpose. Her smirk was too taunting for her to not be devoting every bit of her existence to teasing him right now. "You are a very mean person."

"Yeah, it's funny how enlightenment hasn't changed that about me."

"But these Chieftains! They're asking me to come down and do it all again! They've identified the new Avatar, and the White Lotus is raining stuffy old guys on them to tell them how to properly raise and secure the Bridge Between the Worlds. They've got the Northern Tribe breathing down their necks about wanting to get involved. The North is even dropping hints about how the Council is supposed to be subservient to the big Chief up at the North Pole, and _who_ thought that was a good agreement to make while we were busy with Aang out in the real world? Not to mention that Katara is down there ready to train this Avatar, of course, and _everyone_ involved wants someone who can talk to her in case she doesn't see reason about one thing or another, because they have the wacky idea that I can make Katara see reason if she doesn't want to."

"And you're afraid because you think you can handle all of that stuff, but you're also afraid because you thought you could handle Republic City, too. You don't want to tell them no but you're worried about telling them yes and letting them down."

"Yeah."

"Okay, I'm ready to give you advice, then." Toph smiled, raised a fist, and slammed it into Sokka's shoulder hard enough to knock him off their bench. "Stop being a sissy man and play the hand you've been dealt!"

It was uncomfortable on the floor, not the least because the City Special he had spilled when he dropped his flask earlier was now making its grand return to Sokka's life by way of soaking into the backside of his pants. The front of his pants were still soaked from when he first dropped the flask, so between the two spots he had somehow managed to turn his pants into an effective flask all their own, if he could somehow figure out how to drink from them.

(He made a mental note to explore this notion of Flask Pants further when he had some free time.)

Sokka looked up at Toph. "You're saying my cards are good and I should hold 'em?"

"Just because someone might have better cards doesn't mean the odds still aren't in your favor. You can never _know_ how good your hand is. All you can do is try to manage the odds."

"Gambling metaphors really are clichéd." Sokka grabbed the bench and pulled himself back onto his feet, his pants squishing unpleasantly but fragrantly. "But they do have a nice way of explaining things, don't they?"

"Hey, it's not my metaphor. It's a song."

"I know." He sat back down on the bench, and Toph leaned warmly against him. "So when we get to wherever it is we're going, I guess I'll have to buy a ticket back to Republic City and tell them that I accept the position. I don't suppose... ?"

"I follow the Earth, Sokka. It led me to you tonight, but it's not taking me back to Republic City. I only ever liked that place because my friends were there."

Sokka looked down at her. He could still see that kid who ran away to join the Avatar's group, the young woman who tortured the toughest Earthbenders in the world, and the mother who took everything the power-hungry had to throw at her for the sake of her kids. All those Tophs were in the face, in the milky eyes; all the wrinkles and the gray hair that had accumulated since then did nothing to hide the constancy of the gambler she really was in her heart.

The farm smell came close to obscuring all that, though.

Choosing to still ignore it, Sokka added, "I'm probably not going to leave the South Pole again. Any idea when you're going to finally stop wandering?"

She grabbed his hand. "Can I use one more gambling metaphor?"

"If you must."

"When I've finally broken even."

The train went on into the night, the last journey that Sokka and Toph would take together.

**END**


End file.
